Saskatchewan Government introduces coal-fired electricity regulations

The Saskatchewan Government are passing regulations on coal-fired electricity Wednesday in Legislature.

The regulations are a step towards an equivalency agreement between for Federal and Provincial government, which ensures the Government of Canada accepts Saskatchewan meets or exceeds federal standards for coal-fired electricity.

The move would then allow SaskPower to regulate their own emissions from coal-fired power plants.

The regulations are a necessary step in the equivalency agreement which was first announced in November, 2016.

Without an equivalency agreement, regulations at the federal level require all coal-fired plants which don’t fulfill a performance standard to be shut down at the end of their economic life or by 2030, whichever arrives quicker.

Regulations take effect New Years Day, 2018, while the final equivalency agreement is expected by 2019.